National Kriol Council

Who We Are 

The National Kriol Council was established in 1995 as a legal non-government, not for profit cutural organization; incorporation as such was in April, 1996. 

 Mission

 Purpose of the Council

An important part of what shaped the mission as well as what helped formed the objectives of the Council is  looking at the problems facing our Belizean Kriols who are afro-descendants. Below are ideas gathered from an institutional training done with the Kriol Council in 2009 with the assistance of the Social Investment Fund (SIF) of Belize.

Problems facing Kriols in Belize

• Lack of acknowledgement of culture
• Failure to hand down traditions to the younger generation
• Low self esteem
• The way Kriol perceive themselves and are perceived by others
•  Fractured identity-who we are
• Poor leadership
• Unemployment
• Low education
• Stigmatization/discrimination
• Increase in violence
• Loss of culture and adaptation
• Subscription of  other cultural domaination
• Disintegration of family
• Drug involvement
• Lack of understanding of our history
• False sense of security as an ethnic group
• Division among the people

The above was then grouped into five key areas:

Five areas of Kriol problems (summary from above)

1. Loss of culture/identity
2. Self esteem/self awareness/identity
3. Lack of leadership
4. Social problems
5. Division among our people

As a result of the above areas, the objectives below were developed to guide the Council in this second decade of the new millennium:

• Roles and responsibilities of the Kriol Council

OBJECTIVES

• Education/information

 To empower individuals with knowledge and skills for the preservation and promotion of the positive aspects of the Kriol language and culture

•  Advocacy/lobbying

To publicly advocate for and on behalf of the Kriol population

•  Unity

To create an environment that fosters unity within the Kriol population and among other ethnic groups through the promotion of cultural activities

•  Wealth creation

To provide training for the Kriol population in culturally based entrepreneurial activities to generate income for the individual and to help sustain the Council [one instance was the 2003 Mayflower Street Upliftment Project, with the asistance of SIF (See the following:    

Kriol used as upliftment tool. (2003, July 25). News5. Retrieved from http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/14802

 More recently, with SIF's assistance, NKC conducted a two-month Cultural Entrepreneurial Program that involved five areas of skills training, such as handicraft making, creation of Kriol musical instruments and the like. Additionally, in 2008 - 2009, with the assitance of the International Development Bank (IDB), NKC was involved in a cultural retrieval of music and dance.

• Research

To conduct research, build research documentation capabilities of the council and use research as a basis for program development directed by the NKC and other agencies

 Structure of the Organization

Effective April 2010 the structure of the Kriol Council's branches has been changed from districts to regions. Below is the revised organizational structure for the Council.